Friday, November 27, 2009

Forever Spring, Darn It

See this sock?

I'm mad at it. No....wait...I'm not mad at this sock specifically....I'm mad at its other half:

This is the sock that never ends. I've been half-heartedly trying to work on this sock now for four months. This is "Spring Forward," a free sock pattern I downloaded from Ravelry. I'm not sure why I'm not finishing it. Perhaps because I'm not fond of this Shibui yarn, or perhaps I don't like the length of the completed sock. Whatever it is, I am stuck, stuck, stuck, motivationally speaking, just past the heel of this sock.

But being stuck alone is not enough to make me mad at this sock. No. Something far worse has happened.

I'm a one-project-at-a-time woman. I've always figured that if I didn't love a project enough to work on it--if I had to go traipsing off onto another project just to get un-bored--that I should figure out what was wrong with the one that had stalled me and fix it. Make it exciting enough to work on again. Sort of like marriage, you know? You just can't go calling up Brad Pitt or Gerard Butler because you're sick of your own husband! Even if he does generate too much laundry or leave wadded-up paper towels on the kitchen counter every hour on the hour. Ahem.

But being promised to a duplicate of a project that barely entertained me the first time is agony! (Imagine having your husband's identical twin come to live with you on laundry day. He's also brought his spare roll of paper towels.)

So...for the first time in my knitting life...I'm thinking of being unfaithful. Why? Because Daniel Craig showed up my mailbox today:

Nope. Mitten #24 has stolen my heart. Sorry, Spring Forward socks. It wasn't you; it was me. I tried, but I couldn't resist the call of Charlotte's beautiful mitten patterns. Her instructions and techniques are clear and concise, and her projects are divine. You couldn't help it, red socks; you were just plain red. Right now in my life, I need a rainbow:

Sigh. What will my friends and family say?

I know! I can distract them with this uber-adorable fez!! How could they be mad at me if I'm wearing this???

I can so well understand that there can be some half knitted socks in your cupboard. I find sometimes them also in this house! Those mittens and wollen hats are great! There are many grateful young students, who need those hats, mittens and socks!!! Not to talk about Scandinavian people from babies to grannies wearing wollen clothes. Have a nice weekend!

You can't finish the sock pair because of SSS--Second Sock Syndrome. Lots of us suffer from the same thing. That's why brilliant women invented methods to knit two socks at once! With those methods, we get matching pairs to wear, instead of one blue and one red! Good luck!

Tee Hee...you make me smile. My UFO list of quilting alone would make you quake! (at last count, there are 29 UFO's in the drawer). Only 3 UFO's of knitting. And I'm working on all of them to get them done in my lifetime!

I just love those mittens! While stranded work isn't my thing, I've done it and, mostly, enjoyed it.

Hey...if you have trouble doing TWO of something that bores you, then you better be careful which pair of mittens you pick.......because if you pick a pair that bores you, then you might be stuck on mitten #2 for a LONG time...just like you are stuck on sock #2. LOL I, too, find it funny that you'd make heavy socks and mittens while living in Hawaii...but maybe they will go to your son's girlfriend in a colder climate??

Ah yes, the second one is never as much fun as the first, and they don't even come out the same size sometimes. The knitting police won't mind, Lisa, if you put those socks aside and choose a new project. Have you read "Izzy Willy Nilly"? Izzy could use your single sock. :>}

Those mittens will be perfect when your temps dip way down into the 50's this winter... LOL

I hadn't thought of mittens... my grandkids will be here from Honolulu in less that 2 weeks... I'll finally get to see that grandson of mine who just turned one this past week. I'll have to go look and see if I can find some easy patterns to make some mittens for them while they are here in PA.

I have a friend who just pulls sock out of her drawer - they don't have to match... if you do that you won't have to finish the pair!

My first reaction was to say that you aren't a REAL knitter or quilter unless you have several WIPs - more than a dozen - in various stages of process. But I'll be good and say that maybe if you promise yourself that you can start on the mittens when you are done with the sock, goodness it is almost done anyway, then maybe that will provide you with the motivation you need.

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